Tyler Mitchell's 'Wish This Was Real' Lands in Helsinki
Visualizing Black leisure as a radiant form of resistance.
At just 29 years old, Tyler Mitchell has been celebrated by some of the biggest names in art and fashion. The artist is making his Nordic debut with a solo exhibition at The Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki, running through February 23, 2025. Curated by Brendan Embser and Sophia Greiff, Wish This Was Real presents nearly a decade of Mitchell’s work, grounded by ideas of beauty, style, utopia and the landscape that amplify narratives of Black life.
The exhibition unfolds across three thematic sections, ranging from portraits taken across the United States, Europe and West Africa to his more recent prints of fabric and mirrors. Lives/Liberties revels in the essence of youth, probing into portraiture as a tool of identity, while Postcolonial/Pastoral looks to natural landscapes as a stage for tender images of families enjoying simple pleasures. Finally, Family/Fraternity evokes a profound sense of agency and aspiration, as Mitchell explores the power of presentation capturing the Black family unit.
“I hope there is an honest gaze to my photos,” Mitchell reflects. “The entire project, if you will, of engaging with photography is really about envisioning moments of collectivity, moments of leisure, moments of repose and moments of joy against a thorny backdrop of our history, and as an American – for me – that often means a violent history.”
Each frame of Wish This Was Real houses a luminous world of its own. In this visual embark of community and connection, ordinary moments are enchanted by Mitchell’s stylistic sensibility and eye for delicate play.
The Finnish Museum of Photography
Kaapelitehdas, Kaapeliaukio 3,
00180 Helsinki, Finland
